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Highlight Hiker Blog
Woods Cove, Ice House & Reuben’s Pond and Mill Pond Valley Trails, Orleans MA
August 19, 2020
It’s been a long time since I was able to update the website. We ended our vacation on the Cape, and upon our return (and in three days time) I took massive parent crash course in hybrid learning for the kids’ school year and dragged two kids all over the place to do the back to school shopping. Now that the kids are back to school, I can finally get my pages up to date, so expect a lot of new content over the next few days! I can also get back out on the trails with my NEW SHOES (more on this later).
Back for now, think back… back… back to mid-August with its warm, sunny heat, and long, lazy days (insert cartoony time-reversal swirling here)… it’s August 19th and I’m back on the Cape. Half the family went to Nauset Beach for the day, while the other half chilled at the rental house and went walking. Betcha’ can’t guess which half I was in…!! Because the trails are quite short here, I was fortunate enough to get through three trails in one day with loads of time to spare.
I started at Woods Cove with a kid and a dog. Woods Cove is an adorable trail at the end of Tonset Road. A tiny 11 acres, this trail is less than one mile of woodsy former farmland and salt marsh. The OCT description says that there are vernal pools, but it must have been a dry time of year because we didn’t see any… but we did enjoy the beautiful view of Woods Cove! The neighboring Weeset Point has a public area that, when combined with the walk, make this a pleasurable stop for a deep breath of good salt air.
But because Woods Cove was such a short trail, both the kid and the dog were wanting more outdoorsy time, so we drove down Tonset Road to Ice House Pond and Reuben’s Pond trails. The OCT website says the trail length is 1.5 miles, but we ended up walking closer to 2.5 because of course I wanted to step on every inch of trail and there are so many loops to enjoy.
Get your inner birder on at this location… like so much of Cope Cod, the waterfowl, song birds and birds of prey and all seem to enjoy converging within the 33 acres of preserved land. As far as history goes, Ice House Pond is just as the name suggests: in ye olden days it provided ice for residents of Orleans through the summer. But mostly it’s just an enjoyable place to wander with a friend, talking and “getting lost” in and out of the seemingly endless looping trails.
After exploring Ice House Pond, we decided that it was time for a lunch break. And after our lunch break, the kid and the dog decided they were done exploring. So I went down Champlain Road on my own to seek out the outstanding Mill Pond Valley Trail. This short trail packs quite a punch in the natural beauty department (which you’ll see in the photos), and much like the neighboring Woods Cove, it wanders through several different ecosystems, which creates a sense of wonder. There are two very large sycamore trees along the trail, both unique and, if I may say, a little magical nestled here.
Enjoy the photos! The captions will include a lot more historical and practical information about each location!
Woods Cove Trail
The parking area at the trail head is only enough for two cars, but just few hundred yards away, you can park at the larger lot for Weeset Point.
The welcome kiosk at Woods Cove.
Not a great picture of the map with the morning sun glaring, but you get the gist of it, I'm sure: cute little out and back!
Woods Hole is located where Tonset Road meets the water.
The adorable stone wall is from a farm that used to exist here. I call it adorable, because compared to the stone walls you find in New Jersey, it really is teeny weeny and cute!
Virginia Creeper slowly winds its way up the tree.
The Olden Golden loved this short little trail, even if it meant being attached to a leash.
We got a chuckle out of the WALK sign.
The path was really lush. This trail has grown quite a bit since the OCT posted photos on its website. Especially at the salt marsh.
The closer you get to the salt marsh, the sparser the tree cover.
End of the line, folks!
But what a spectacular view of Woods Cove!
Vegetation at Woods Cove.
Wild radish in bloom at Woods Cove.
On our way back. we marveled at how smooth the trail was... right before my kid tripped over a tree root. It made her laugh, so I took a picture of the spot where it happened for posterity.
I found these scattered throughout the Trust trails, but there seemed to be no markings as to their purpose. If you know the answer, head over to my facebook page and let me know!
Weeset Point is really beautiful in the summer sun.
A long look out to the Nauset Harbor.
Weeset Point in the morning sun.
A look at Weeset Point parking area. It's quite expansive and can hold over 8 cars when parked correctly.
Ice House Pond & Reuben’s Pond Trails
The so called parking area at the Tonset Road entrance was tiny. I could barely squeeze my car in. It fits about 1/2 a car! Supposedly, there is another entrance on Captain Curtis Way, but I couldn't find it!
The kiosk was a bit cramped, so I couldn't get a whole photo of it without massive amounts of glaring sun. This was the best I could do for you.
Pretty arrowwood leaves glistening in the sun.
Just one of the many loop points at Ice House Pond trail. You could effectively get lost for hours here!
The trails were well packed with only a few root covered sections.
Ice House Pond is a very pretty little place. In the winter months, residents can go ice skating here. We saw a couple quietly canoeing around the perimeter during our visit.
Turtle!!
Ice House Pond.
View point from the memorial bench at Ice House Pond.
The memorial bench at Ice House Pond.
The dedication of the bench.
I love that OCT honors the people who donated land to the trust with plaques. They are scattered all over the trails and are a very special tribute.
Memorial plaque.
Ice House Pond through the trees.
Peek a boo! I see you, too! This little fellow is the Ambassador for the Reuben Pond section of the park.
Reuben Pond... if you can see it through the foliage, that is! This natural area is very healthy and happily growing.
I said it before, and I'll say it again... the blazes here are non-traditional but really pleasing.
These long paths are wonderful for roaming with someone you love.
Another memorial plaque at an intersection in the Ice House Pond section of the park.
Thank you to the Moore Family. Your donation is greatly appreciated by the likes of me!
A very pretty place for a memorial.
Mill Pond Valley
It reads, "Mill Pond Valley, In honor of Orin Tovrov, Founder, Outdoorsman and Conservationist. Please respect this beautiful place. Donated by his children Jessica and John. 6/27/96. Orleans Trust Conservation."
So what makes this plaque more special than the others? Orin Tovrov was one of the original founders, and first President of the Orleans Trust Conservation. This property belonged to him and his children donated it outright to the Trust after his passing. You can feel the love here. It's a very powerful place.
The trail undulated between single track and woods road-width track. Always hard packed, there are certain sections where you just want to stop and breathe in all of the wonderful smells: cedar, salt water and coastal sweetpepperbush. Just amazing.
To get to the main loop you have to walk down a hill. Most of the hills here work like dune climbs: steep but short. This particular spot is near the bottom of the hill, where seasonal flooding can occur.
Lovely little bridge that leads to the main loop.
Coastal Sweetpepperbush. The smell. OH! The wonderful fragrance! I wish I could bottle it up!
The giant beech tree greets you past the bridge.
Entering the main loop of Mill Pond Valley trail.
How could you not fall in love with this place?
Down in the valley of Mill Pond.
Remember the days I arrived when Mill Pond was covered with tropical storm clouds? This photo was taken from the same spot... under the warmth of the sun.
Pretty Mill Pond. It's easy to see when Mr. Tovrov loved this place so much he wanted it preserved.
Mill Pond.
The entrance back onto the path from the coast line of Mill Pond was tough to see. It would be great if the OCT could prune back some of the dense forest to add a clear direction sign. I took a lucky guess at the re-entry point.
An unnamed pond can be viewed through dense foliage just on a tiny unmarked spur trail.
Headed back up the hill to the parking area.
The parking here is just a little pull off on the side of the road. You can maybe fit two cars here, but they'd both have to be little cars! There is parking further down Mill Pond Road, but you'd be walking about one mile to get to this trail head. There was, however, room on the north side of Mill Pond Road, just kitty corner of the trail head. Enough for about two cars.
The welcome kiosk maps.